Three hundred Cameroonians taking refuge at Okwangwo, a border community in Boki Local Government of Cross River State, have received relief materials from an Akwa Ibom State -based non-government organisation (NGO). Mr. John Inaku, director-general, Cross River Emergency Relief Agency (CR-SEMA), spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He said that the materials were donated by Collective Development Initiative (CDI), in collaboration with Akwa Ibom State Enterprise and Employment Scheme (AKEES), the pencils and toothpick production arm. Inaku said the… Read more

The Federal Government (FG) in collaboration with the Cameronian government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will begin the process of returning 91,000 Nigerian refugees from Cameroon next month. The collaboration, which was formed through a tripartite commission, has the sole responsibility of repatriating the refugees, who are at the Minawao refugee camp. Head Humanitarian, Resettlement and Assistance department, Presidential Committee on the Northeast Initiative (PCNI) Dr Sidi Ali said that the process has already began. He… Read more

Cross River State government has provided food and relief materials for over 3,000 Southern Cameroonian refugees camping in Ikom Local Government. The United Nations said over 10,000 refugees have been registered in councils. Items donated included rice, plantain, beans, yam, garri, palm oil, cartons of noodles, toiletries, cooking utensils, among others. Governor Ben Ayade said he was aware of the pains of being chased out of your ancestral home, hence the need to ameliorate their suffering. Ayade, represented by the… Read more

About 887 Nigerian refugees arrived at Banki, Borno State, on Tuesady, following a request by the Cameroonian government to Nigeria, to allow it repatriate them. The External Relations Officer, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Nigeria, Mr. Hanson Tamfu, stated this in a statement yesterday. Tamfu said the request was prompted by fear and suspicions by Cameroon, that some of the refugees might by Boko Haram insurgents. The statement reads: “The returnees arrived in six trucks sent by Nigeria,… Read more

A Syrian refugee on Thursday set himself on fire on the Greek island of Chios, apparently in despair over conditions at the Vial refugee camp, a news agency reported. The report stated that the man was taken to the local hospital with severe burns. It added that “a police officer, who sustained burns on his hands while rescuing the man, also required medical treatment.” More than 3,500 refugees and migrants on Chios were desperate after spending months in the islands’… Read more

The UN has expressed concern over the forced return of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon in spite of recent tripartite agreement aimed at ensuring voluntary returns of nationals. According to a statement from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday, Cameroon has forcefully returned more than 2,600 refugees back to Nigerian border villages “against their will”. UNHCR Spokesperson, Babar Balogh, said in the statement that the organisation was particularly concerned “as these forced returns have continued… Read more

Thousands of protesters on Saturday demonstrated outside the U.S. Embassy in London against American President Donald Trump over his temporary ban on refugees and nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering U.S. The protesters held black banners with blood stains bearing slogans including: “No to Trump. No to War’’; “Trump: Special Relationship? Just Say No’’ against the ban and Trump’s foreign policy. Trump had a week ago signed an order putting a four-month hold on entrance of refugees into the… Read more

After a four-day visit to Nigeria, the United Nations expert on internally displaced persons (IDPs) has said that there is an urgent need for the West African country to take action to protect the hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the Northeast. “The situation must no longer be downplayed and it is not too late to save many lives,” said Chaloka Beyani, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs. “The government must act urgently to ensure that… Read more

Former Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to resettle Bakassi Peninsula residents. She said this was necessary so that the people do not resort to protesting naked and crying out to God. In a statement yesterday, she said her people were not cowards and that their silence should not be mistaken for weakness. Ita-Giwa said she had been pacifying them not to take the law into their hands because President Muhammadu Buhari… Read more

The Federal Government has signed a tripartite agreement with the UN High Commission for Refuge (UNHCR) and the Republic of Cameroon for the return of Nigerian refugees from Cameroon. The Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Muhammad Sidi, spoke when an AU Humanitarian Mission led by Dr Aisha Abdullahi, AU’s Commissioner Political Affairs, visited the agency in Abuja. Sidi, in a statement signed by Sani Datti, NEMA’s Information Officer, said: “80,000 Nigerians are taking refuge in Cameroon and are being… Read more

The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki Moon, has advised European countries against increasing borders in Balkan and Austria to migrants and refugees moving toward Europe. Ban said in statement issued by his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, that it was imperative for all European countries to keep their frontiers open to the migrants and refugees. ``UN secretary-general has voiced concern about increasing border restrictions in the Balkans and Austria for migrants and refugees streaming toward Europe ``All countries should keep their… Read more

THE Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Yussuff Lasun, has promised that National Assembly will give legislative backing to refugees and the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (IPU) Convention on Migration Mobility. He spoke yesterday at the launched of a document on the convention at the on-going 133rd Assembly of the IPU in Geneva, Switzerland. The document was designed to educated legislators, government officials, non-governmental agencies (NGO), civil society groups and others providing services to rural populations “on governing, administering and managing migration”.… Read more

The African delegation to the 133rd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly holding in Geneva, Switzerland, is to present issue of refugees arising from Boko Haram insurgency and other terrorist groups, it was learnt yesterday. The decision of the African regional group was articulated at a meeting preceding the opening session, which was chaired by the leader of the Nigerian delegation and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuff Lasun. At the meeting, several countries complained about Boko Haram and the effects of… Read more